


three shots

by PaintedVanilla (orphan_account)



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Co-workers, Crushes, Drinking, Drunken Flirting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 17:22:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14919660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/PaintedVanilla
Summary: “I think you’re really handsome and I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date. Sometime.”





	three shots

“Hey, John?” Charles asks, and immediately feels stupid about it. It’s too late to back out now, though, now that he’s opened his mouth, because John looks up at him from his desk. Charles has to force himself not to look away.

“Yeah?” John asks, when Charles doesn’t follow through.

“Oh, um.” Charles stutters, “Are you going to go to that work thing? Tomorrow night?”

John makes a face, “Probably not.”

“Oh, yeah, me neither.” Charles says quickly, “I hate - uh - stuff like that. Parties. Who goes to parties? As an adult? You know?”

“I mean, I don’t think parties are that bad.” John says nonchalantly, and Charles immediately wants to punch himself in the face. 

John continues, “I just, uh,” he pauses and peers around the corner, then says in a quieter voice, “I don’t really want to spend more time around Katherine than I have to.”

Charles grins at him, “Three guesses as to why?”

“Do you really need  _ three _ guesses?” John asks, “She finds an excuse to come by my desk at least once a day. I’m surprised she hasn’t been by yet.”

“Katherine?” the girl who sits on the other side of John’s desk sticks her head over the wall of the cubicle, startling both of them, “Katherine has the flu. So you don’t have to worry about her if you want to come tomorrow night, John.”

“Oh, okay.” John says, visibly relaxing, “Then I might go. I’ll ask Frances.”

“Me, too.” Charles says, then winces when John looks at him, “I mean - I might go. Not that I might ask Frances I - I’ve never met Frances.”

John grins at him, “Why’d you change your mind?”

“Oh, uh,” Charles looks away, desperately trying to think of an excuse; he grabs a random sheet of paper off his desk and stands up abruptly, “I just remembered I need to give this to Lauren, see you later.” he says quickly, then leaves.

…

“Maybe, when I get there, I’ll just walk straight up to him and ask him on a date.” Charles says aloud to himself, then he winces, “No, bad plan. What if I get there before him? I can’t just ambush him as soon as he gets there. Okay - new plan.”

He turns back around to face his dog, who’s laying on his bed watching him; she perks up when he looks at her, “I arrive late on  _ purpose,  _ that way there’s no chance of me ambushing him. Then, I’ll walk up to him as though he was the first person I spotted, and I’ll be like  _ hey did I miss anything -  _ God, I sound like such an idiot.” 

He places his face in his hands and stays like that for a moment, then he looks back up, “ _ You  _ have a more successful love life than me. You have four children.”

His dog looks at him blankly, and he sighs, “Okay. It’s  _ fine.  _ I’ll just walk up to him and start a  _ casual  _ conversation, and then if -  _ if -  _ I manage to get him into a one on one conversation, I’ll ask him on a date.”

He looks down at his dog, who looks back up at him eagerly, and he makes a frustrated noise, “No! I don’t know _how_ I’m going to ask him out! I’m just going to do it! Isn’t that a good enough plan?!”

His dog tilts her head to the side, and he groans, “Of course it’s not. I don’t  _ know.  _ I haven’t been on a date in a long time. I was planning on just winging it because if I try to plan something it’s not going to sound organic plus he’s not going to follow the script I make up in my head and it’s going to throw me off my groove.”

His dog continues looking at him, and he deflates, “Yes, I know I had no groove in the first place. This is never going to work, he’s way too out of my league.”

His dog gets up suddenly and stretches, and Charles sighs, “Maybe I shouldn’t even go.”

He stares at his dog for a moment, who sits up after she finishes stretching and stares back at him. Charles huffs, “No, you’re right. I already put on cologne. I should go.”

He stares at the ground for a moment, then says, “But maybe I shouldn’t ask him out. I mean - I sit right across from him. If he says no it’ll just be really awkward and I kind of like this job.”

He hesitates, then he says, “But maybe I  _ should  _ ask him out because if I don’t I’ll never know and I  _ really  _ like him. He’s  _ really  _ cute and I’m so fucking lonely. What should I do?”

He looks down at his dog, who just stares at him. He sighs, “I wish I had friends.”

…

Charles had decided on the drive there he needed to come up with a creative opener when he saw John. When he arrives and sees John, he approaches him and says, “Hey, John.” because he’s not creative.

“Oh, hey.” John says, turning to look at him. “I didn’t think you were going to come.”

“Well, I came.” Charles says, “Um, I’m here now.” He pauses awkwardly, “Were you talking to them?” he asks, nodding to the group of coworkers standing behind them.

John looks over his shoulder for a moment, then says, “Yeah, but I’m kind of tired of talking to straight people.” He looks back at Charles, “No offense.”

“No, uh.” Charles clears his throat awkwardly, “Same.”

John raises his eyebrows, “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Charles says, then looks away awkwardly, “Um - I’ll be right back.” 

Charles leaves him and goes into the bathroom to hide. He doesn’t stay there long so that he doesn’t look weird; when he comes back out, he sees John again and forces himself to walk back over to him. In the time it takes to walk back over to him, he decides he has to reopen with something better; he’s trying to make a good impression, here.

“You’re gay, right?” He says once he’s close enough, and John looks at him, vaguely startled.

“Uh, yeah.” he says.

“Me, too!” Charles says, then wishes he were anywhere but here.

“Oh, uh, cool.” John says, then smiles at him awkwardly, “Can I ask - ?”

“I’ll be right back.” Charles says, again, then turns away from John wincing.

…

It takes another hour and exactly three shots for Charles to approach John again. “Hey.” he says, grabbing John gently by his elbow and pulling him out of a conversation he didn’t look interested in anyways, “I need to ask you something.”

“Are you drunk?” John asks once he gets a good look at him.

“No,” Charles says, “I mean - maybe - a little? Not a lot. I’m fine.”

“Didn’t you drive here?” John asks.

“It’s fine.” Charles assures him.

“It’s not fine if you drove here.” John inists, “Dude, what did you drink?”

Charles hesitates, “I took three shots.”

“Three shots of  _ what?”  _ John asks, looking startled.

“Does it matter?” Charles asks, “I’ve taken way more shots than that before and I’m not going to take any more - ”

“Why did you take three shots?” John asks, “It’s a Thursday! You’re gonna die tomorrow morning.”

“If you don’t want a hangover you do it with a clear liquor.” Charles tells him, “It’s just gin. And they weren’t even that strong.”

John crosses his arms, obviously still displeased, “You can’t drive home like that.”

“I’m not trying to drive home, I’m trying to ask you out!” Charles says.

John blinks, obviously not expecting him to say that; Charles feels like running away from him for a third time, but he manages to keep himself standing still and continues, “I think you’re really handsome and I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date. Sometime.”

It’s taking all of Charles’ willpower to look at John’s face instead of at the floor. John’s cheeks are flushed, and after a moment he looks away, “You’re drunk.”

“No!” Charles says quickly, “I mean - a little bit, that was kind of the point. But I’m not even drunk.”

“You’re not drunk after three shots?” John asks.

“They weren’t that strong.” Charles insists, “And I - I’ve had more than three shots before. I took three shots  _ to  _ ask you out. I’ve been trying to for weeks.”

John is quiet for a moment, his face still flushed and still not looking at him. Finally, he glances over and says, “Thanks.”

“What?” Charles asks, “For what?”

“Um,” John looks away again, “You called me handsome.”

“Oh.” Charles says, “Well - you are handsome.”

“Thanks.” John says again, and then he looks back at him, “Um, can I have your number?”

“Yes.” Charles says immediately, rushing to get his phone out of his pocket. John grins at him as he does so.

“I’ll, um, I’ll text you?” John says, as he’s putting Charles’ number into his phone, “And, um, if you change your mind when you’re sober just let me know.”

“I won’t.” Charles says, “I mean, I would tell you if I did, but I’m not going to.”

John looks doubtful at that, so Charles adds, “I like you a lot.”

The color returns to John’s face, although it hadn’t entirely left, “You’re cute when you’re drunk.”

Charles grins, “Thank you.” he says, “But, I’m not drunk.”

“Okay, well, you still can’t drive home.” John says, “On the other hand, it’s getting kind of late and Frances has not answered my last two texts, and she’s probably asleep but it’s making me nervous anyways, so I’m going to head out.”

He glances at the group of coworkers he’d been talking to earlier, debating if he should say goodbye, then he looks back at Charles, “Will you tell them I left?”

“Sure.” Charles says.

“Okay.” John says, “Um, I’ll text you? Or maybe just talk to you tomorrow? Since I’m going to see you anyways? And you’re going to be hungover.”

“I’m not going to be hungover.” Charles insists.

John hesitates, then he says, “Okay, if you’re not hungover, I’ll buy you lunch, but if you are, you buy me lunch.”

Charles grins, “Lucky for me I’m great at pretending I’m not hungover.”

John laughs, then looks at him seriously, “Do not drive yourself home.”

The sudden seriousness startles Charles a little bit, “Okay, I won’t.”

“I would be kind of sad if you died before our date.” John says, “And if you hit someone and kill them, our date is cancelled.”

“Noted.” Charles says, and then John grins at him and turns to leave. Once he’s gone, it takes Charles a moment to realize that he succeeded, albeit messily, and for the rest of the night he can’t stop smiling.


End file.
